Semi-Draft

1. Philosophy/approach for working with students whose ideas are underdeveloped

My philosophy in working with students whose ideas are underdeveloped is all about engagement. In my experience with diverse student population at San Francisco State University, I found that engaging discussion plays a vital role in assisting these types of students to move onto the next level of the writing stage.

In my experience, students present underdeveloped ideas for various reasons. For example, students may not be fully engaged with the prompt because they are not feeling passionate about the topic. As an instructor, I do my best to choose topics that may speak to a diverse population of students rather than a specific group of students. If I were to choose topics that speak only to native students or immigrant students who have spent most of their lives in America and are engaged in American culture and politics, it would be difficult for international students to follow or relate to such topics. Therefore, I always value choosing appropriate topics that speak to the diverse populations’ common experience.

      Aside from the lack of interest, another reason why students may be presenting underdeveloped writing could be because the students are not fully engaged with the prompt due to busy schedule or they are not aware of brainstorming methods. As an instructor, I always push and encourage students to ask questions and critically approach such topics from multiple points of views because this is a great way to start brainstorming. Although some students may be familiar with such practice, some students may not be exposed to such approach, especially for international students, whose culture and background may not support aggressive critical engagement with written authority. To overcome this, I encourage students to engage in critical discussion and peer review to ease tension. In this case, I must teach heuristics such as: annotation skills, revision drafts, establishing goals, and reader based writing method. These heuristics will not only help students in English papers, but moreover, these skills can transfer over to other classes that may require writing.

2.      Philosophy/approach for working with students who have oral features in their writing

My philosophy in working with students who have oral features in their writing is to help students transfer their oral skills into writing. When teaching students who have oral SLIPS in their writing, I always approach it with cultural sensitivity and empathy. I always keep in mind that oral language is invaluable component in writing process.

In identifying oral features, I try to separate it into two groups: one is to recognize the difference between grammar errors from colloquialism. Some oral features may not always be grammar errors. Students often write in colloquialism such as “You know what I mean,” and “Well,” etc. In working with students with oral features, I try my best to explain the difference between oral features and writing features. I compare the two and explain why writing is different than speaking. After clearly expressing the difference, I encourage my students to write and adapt an academic voice.

      Oral features also may be cultural. International students, generation 1.5 students, and native students may all have different types of oral features. Since all oral features are different, it would be important to reiterate to students why writing must involve different style of expression. Understanding the difference between speaking and writing, the students will be able to transfer their ideas onto the paper with a different voice.

                                                                                                              

3.      Philosophy/approach for working with students who have dialect features in their writing

When working with students with dialect feature, I promote diversity in dialectal features to provide richness in our classroom environment. I believe that students with dialects can learn how to code switch by being aware of different genres and audiences. I encourage students to actively compare different dialects and academic voice by incorporating dialectal assignments such as short stories and literatures.

I also believe that dialectal features do not interfere with generating ideas and therefore, it should not be discouraged from using it to scaffold ideas and answering prompts in the draft stages. In working with students who have dialect features, I often utilize endnotes and one-on-one meetings to decipher and transfer their unique voices into an academic voice. I always do my best to be sensitively aware of their identity and cultural background as dialect features reflect where they come from. As an instructor, I am always aware of the fact that students have their right to their own language. When they come into the classroom and adapt an academic voice, it is important to emphasize that they are gaining a voice, not losing it. Above all, I am aware of the fact that this kind of process takes some time and therefore, I must pace myself with different students individually.

4. Philosophy/approach for working with newly arrived international students

My philosophy in working with newly arrived international students is all about cooperation between student and a teacher. International students often come from a different background than other students in terms of linguistic background. They often are more aware of grammar rules than native students and therefore, are seeking for active critiques on their writing skills.

      In a classroom where there are diverse groups of students including international students, I would incorporate low stake diagnostic assessments to see what kind of needs are there among students. With international students, I prefer to work one-on-one and communicate through endnotes and marginal notes. I openly invite students to give me cover memos to tell me what kind of linguistic questions they have. In working with international students, I do my best to keep their unique cultural voice but at the same time, encourage collective learning experience by collaborating with other students in brainstorming or discussion activities.